Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 283,958	$ 299,794	$ 254,350
Costs of products sold	172,341	178,527	156,067
Gross profit	111,617	121,267	98,283
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	79,622	80,935	73,751
Acquisition costs	443	0	0
Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangibles	0	2,820	0
Executive severance costs	611	0	0
Restructuring costs	2,293	289	2,044
Operating income	28,648	37,223	22,488
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(1,507)	(1,738)	(1,842)
Other	(701)	(1,496)	(83)
Other expenses - net	(2,208)	(3,234)	(1,925)
Income before taxes	26,440	33,989	20,563
Income tax expense	4,145	10,344	6,169
Net earnings	22,295	23,645	14,394
Less: net earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests	107	(1)	49
Net earnings attributable to VPG stockholders	$ 22,188	$ 23,646	$ 14,345
Basic earnings per share attributable to VPG stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 1.64	$ 1.76	$ 1.08
Diluted earnings per share attributable to VPG stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 1.63	$ 1.75	$ 1.07
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic (in shares)	13,515	13,439	13,262
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted (in shares)	13,597	13,535	13,471